The Story Store VII: Nozoki Ana
by ArenLuxon
Summary: [Nozoki Ana] Miss Honna walks into the Story Store with a strange request.


"So what did you say your premise was?" The blonde woman asked.

"Well, there's this totally not-original standard protagonist-kun and he moves into an apartment, but there's this little hole in the wall. And when he looks through it, he finds his neighbour masturbating."

"I thought this wasn't a hentai," she pointed out.

"It's not, trust me," Miss Honna said. "You'll only see some nipples, nothing more. So his neighbour is this super hot and interesting girl Emiru and he totally falls in love with her."

"Okay. I think I can fill in the rest." After all, they did have standard plots available.  
"Hey, that's not how it goes. Hear me out."

"Okay okay. Go on please, Miss Honna."

"So she blackmails him and they spy on each other alternately. Protagonist-kun hooks up with some big breasted airhead and she's totally getting off on watching him fuck her."

"And you are certain this isn't a hentai?" Her voice was sceptical.

"Yes I'm sure," Miss Hannon insisted, getting really annoyed by now. "So Emiru then lets some creepy guy in her apartment and almost gets raped, but MC-"

"Heroically saves her?"

"No," she insisted. "He throws his alarm clock through her window and the noise alerts the neighbours which scares the almost-rapist off."

"That doesn't sound very heroic."

"No, but it does sound realistic. I already told you, this is not hentai, I actually have a story to tell."

"A story which features a surprising amount of perversion given the fact that you're _not_ hentai."

"Can I continue?"

"Sorry, won't interrupt you again."  
"Okay, so after he saves her, MC-kun goes…" she continued telling her story in great detail.

"And then they sleep together naked," Miss Honna concluded.

"Hold on a second." The blonde woman pushed her glasses up. "This is ecchi then? If they only sleep together. But the rest sounded like hentai." She looked at her computer screen with a puzzled look.

"Do I really have to pick one?" Miss Honna complained.

"Of course you do," the owner insisted. "You can't do both."

" _Kiss X Sis_ did."

She should have known that would be brought up. "That's still technically ecchi since he never had _actual_ sex with his _step_ sisters."

"What about _Aki-Sora_ then?"

"Well uhm, that was hentai, totally. There was nothing more to the story than him having sex with his own sister."

"Alright then. How about... _Yosuga no Sora_?"  
The blonde woman bit her lip. It was getting harder and harder to argue with her.

"Besides," Miss Honna continued. " _euphoria_ clearly showed sexual content, however extreme, does not need to be in the way of a good story. This whole distinction is stupid."

"Well, that's true, but… hold on. How do you know about _euphoria_? That visual novel will only get made in three years."

"Well, you uhm, hear things," Miss Hannon shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"You are aware that breaking the fourth wall within the Story Store is not allowed?" The blonde woman reminded her. "You're supposed to pretend like this is 2008 and not reference anything that came out _after_ that."

"Sorry."

The door opened. A freckled boy leaned in. "Miss, we have a problem."

"Anachronism," the blonde woman said.

"Oh, that explains it. Is it bad?"

"Three years."

He nodded. "I'll reset the system."

"Please do."

The door closed again.

"So," the owner said. "Where were we?"

"I believe I just told you that the distinction between hentai and ecchi is stupid and completely arbitrary."

"Is that a theme within your story?"

"Yes. I want to talk about how technically _not_ having sex can still feel very explicit and intimate. Like _Looking for Alaska_ did."

"Please stop making references before you start another anachronism-crash."  
"Sorry."

"So uhm. The best way for you to show this is letting them watch other people have sex?"

"Yes."

The blonde woman shrugged. Who was she to judge?

"We do have one problem," the owner said.

"Which is?"

"From a marketing perspective this can't work. Your plot includes too much sexual things to broadcast, but not enough to be actually hentai. So you'll have the budget of a hentai, but you'll need to make something with the quality of ecchi since that's how you're gonna have to market it."

"But I'm writing a manga. Are you talking about the OVA which still has to be made?"

The blonde woman turned red. "No."

Once again the door opened.

"My mistake," she quickly said. "Five years."

"Miss, this is getting dangerous."

"Just fix it, please."

"Yes, Miss."

The door closed again.

"I believe it's best if we end this here," the owner said. _Before we do even more damage._

"I believe so too."

The owner smiled sadly. If only that writer knew how dangerous anachronisms really were.


End file.
